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Bob Graham is executive editor at Insurance & Financial Advisor and IFAwebnews.com.

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Alfred W. Gross, the long-serving Virginia insurance commissioner who died just seven months after retiring, was an editor’s dream, even though many of those agents and brokers he served wouldn’t have known if they bumped into him.

I only saw Gross and agents in the same room one time. At a forum in Washington, D.C., Gross joined the Maryland and Washington, D.C., commissioners for a discussion with agents. Several of the agents in attendance asked me if the Virginia commissioner was coming, even though he was a few feet away from them. One of the agents told me later he talked to Gross for a few minutes, but never knew he was the commissioner.

Gross didn’t stand out in a crowd. Even though he dressed like the bureaucrat he was, he quietly transcended appearances. From what I saw, he served his post with grace and efficiency. I rarely heard complaints about insurance products getting approved in Virginia. I wish I could say that for other states. I did hear complaints about fines imposed on agents in his state, but from what I saw – and I have reviewed and written up thousands of fines – few seemed out of line. Policing agents who make mistakes is part of the commissioner’s job and, more importantly, part of what ensures a fair and competitive marketplace.

Gross did something right. He survived as the head of a state insurance agency for 14 years, which compared to the tenure of the average insurance commissioner is a lifetime, or two, or three. Granted, Virginia’s regulatory climate insulates the insurance commissioner from some of the politics that muddies other states’ regulatory climate. But still, 14 years. To count the number of insurance commissioners other states had come and go during his tenure would take some time. Neighboring Maryland’s tally would take two hands. It speaks to his success as a commissioner that he could outlast so many others who had similar jobs.

I respect Gross for another, more selfish reason: He took calls from IFAwebnews.com and Insurance & Financial Advisor’s reporters, willingly, at least from what I could see, and whenever needed. In fact, Gross was so accessible that one of our reporters, Keith Martin, received calls from Gross directly, working outside the purview of Ken Schrad and other public relations staff at the Virginia State Corporation Commission. One time Gross even called to update us on an international trip he took with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

For what I do, responding to our needs is the most important quality in a source, especially a state regulator. The newspaper and website are far better when commissioners are accessible. Gross knew it. He also understood that agents and brokers were part of his clientele. Some commissioners – no I won’t name names – make it clear that their concern is consumer driven. Gross worried about consumers, but he also balanced the needs of agents and brokers.

Insurance regulation is a thankless job. Someone is always upset by a policy, procedure or fine. But somehow, Al Gross managed to find avoid the slings and arrows everyone wants to shoot at an insurance commissioner – for 14 years. That’s quite a legacy.